Pico Gardens Residents Want HACLA Commissioners to Resign

Housing Authority changes its policy on awarding contracts for projects.

By Gloria Alvarez and Gloria Angelina Castillo, EGP Staff Writers

Residents of a public housing development in Boyle Heights who have been complaining since late last year about one board member, now want the entire Board of Commissioners for the Los Angeles Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) to resign.

As previously reported by EGP, some Pico Gardens/Las Casitas residents are calling for the resignation of Resident Commissioner Maria Del Angel and an investigation into whether she has received special perks or retaliated against Housing Authority employees who fail to do her bidding or question her authority.

Citing new concerns about possible ethics violations and conflicts of interest, they told EGP on Monday they now believe all the commissioners should resign.

Rebecca Guerra says evidence is mounting that all the commissioners have abused their authority and residents are worried that proposed policy changes will just give them more power.

Guerra, a Pico Gardens Resident Advisory Committee (RAC) member, was at the Feb. 14 special meeting of the HACLA Board of Commissioners where policy changes to the Housing Authority’s procurement policy were on the agenda. She and two other members of the community asked the board to not do away with open bidding and to initiate an investigation into Del Angel’s activities.

Guerra said a local television reporter who said he is investigating the board’s spending habits approached her after the Feb. 14 meeting. Guerra met with CBS 2’s Investigative Reporter David Goldstein at her Pico Gardens home on Monday, and told EGP that’s when he told her about HACLA commissioner credit card charges for the Ritz Carlton, expensive dinners and furniture purchases. “It’s shocking, I’m appalled,” Guerra said.

Alvivon Hurd, who is known to her friends as “Bonbon,” also found Goldstein knocking at her door with information about questionable commissioner expenditures.

“It’s really sickening,” Hurd told EGP, adding there is no accountability on commissioner spending. “I hope we can put a stop to this. You [the board] can’t keep doing this to us and you’re really not doing anything [for the residents], you’re just taking money and spending it at will.”

Hurd said she hopes Goldstein’s report and EGP’s continued coverage of Pico Gardens will bring accountability to the board and send the message that “someone is watching them.”

Goldstein confirmed to EGP that he did speak with Guerra and Hurd. His investigation is scheduled to air today on CBS 2.

Guerra and Hurd were among residents who in December claimed Del Angel was receiving special perks because she is a housing commissioner. Del Angel has denied claims of favoritism and wrongdoing. HACLA officials have also denied that Del Angel has received any special improvements or housing assignments. (See related stories at www.EGPNews.com)
But a number of residents have told EGP they do not buy HACLA staff explanations.

During the public comment portion of the Feb. 14 meeting, Guerra asked the commissioners to look into why both the Pico Gardens’ manager and assistant manager are being transferred out of the development.

“We want to know the reasoning behind it and who, if any [one], is doing this decision,” said Guerra. She believes the transfers are in retaliation for past controversies involving Del Angel.

At the same meeting, Boyle Heights stakeholders Margarita Amador and Jose Aguilar expressed concern that a Board proposed procurement policy change could do away with competitive bidding on many HACLA contracts.

“Having an open competitive bid is always the best way to go,” Amador said.

In the past, a price/cost analysis was required for all procurement action, but under the new proposed policy –specifically VII Section III (G) – “no such price analysis shall be required if HACLA undertakes a Request for Qualifications involving a developer.”

“The point of the section change is that price will not be the determining factor for the evaluation of an RFQ,” HACLA’s director of Media Relations Eric Brown told EGP in an email on Tuesday.

RFQs, as opposed to RFPs, don’t look for the lowest bidder, but are used to determine a developer’s capabilities or qualifications to do the work, explains Brown.

Brown said the change in the procurement policy is not to avoid an RFP but is due to the new role of the Board. He said the Board “will now manage the development of the RFQ and oversee the procurement process. This is a reflection of their interest in becoming more involved and the importance of these types of projects.”

He said the city of Los Angeles would also play a larger role, including on evaluation panels.

“All of this activity, the RFQ to be released, the selection of the panel and the final evaluation and award will all be done at the board level and fully open to the public,” he said.

On Wednesday Brown said the policy change will only apply to the Jordan Downs redevelopment project in Watts.

But none of the documents obtained by EGP, including the Feb. 14 Board of Commissioners Special Meeting agenda, the Feb. 14 HACLA Staff Report to the Strategic Planning Committee of the Board of Commissioners or its attachments, “A” Major Revisions and “B” Revised Housing Authority Procurement Policy, refer to Jordan Downs or state that the policy applies only to that or any other specific project. Nor was it specified by Brown in any of his e-mails to EGP.

Residents say these types of inconsistencies lead them to question HACLA’s willingness to be transparent.

Amador and Aguilar are both members of the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council but spoke as individuals at the commission meeting. They are not convinced that greater oversight by the current HACLA commission is a good thing. They don’t trust that commissioners will award contracts fairly, and claim that Del Angel has participated in the awarding of some past HACLA contracts despite having a conflict of interest.

“I would like for the record, and to officially request that an investigation be conducted in regards to possible conflicts of interest as it relates to the involvement of Commissioner Del Angel to the business of Estrada Courts RFP…,” Amador told the board.

Del Angel and her family lived at Estrada Courts until she was granted an emergency transfer to Pico Gardens on the grounds that her life was in danger. EGP has reported that Pico Gardens residents said they believed Del Angel orchestrated her transfer out of Estrada Courts because the site may be converted into Section 8 housing, which she might not be qualified to receive. HACLA officials said they granted the emergency transfer after the commissioner’s tires were slashed and a brick was thrown through her window. Guerra says residents don’t get transferred for “random vandalism.”

Pico Gardens and Ramona Gardens residents have also joined a lawsuit against HACLA filed in January by the Los Angeles Rights Housing Collective, a coalition of organizations from across the city of Los Angeles. The lawsuit accuses HACLA of continuously failing to provide adequate notice for the Board of Commissioner meetings and violating the Brown Act.

New revelations of questionable spending by commissioners is adding to residents concerns that HACLA is not acting in the interest of Housing Authority residents, but rather in their own self-interest.

Rudy Montiel has FIRED at least 3 Fraud Investigators for looking into the crooked actions of his upper management and the commissioners. Any questions? Go to http://www.ripoffreport.com and enter HACLA. Look up Ken Simmons and Scott Butler. The facts about those two HACLA managers will make your blood boil.

Somos BH on
March 9th, 2011 8:43 pm

@ Jane Doe facts are hurtful and see they are getting to you. Their is more to come. These Commissioners are as corrupt as the one’s in the City of Bell and hope the Fed’s look into the misuse of Federal funds and prosecute.

The corruption, even after Rudy et al were outed, ousted, is festering more than ever. I am a resident of Ind Square in S. L.A., the third leg of “THE PLAN’ under Montiel has been rolled out in full force. We have lost our Sec. 8 & freedom to move. TELACU, Prop Mgmt under Montiel placed a MGR her 3 yrs ago; arrogant, abusive, unqualified who while trying to force the tenants to be subservient to her, ignorant of codes/laws. I have been keeping up on them stealing our taxes, they are now in chg of city housing & have taken over our bldg for themselves. W Maynard (asset mgr @ HACLA) is now Asst Chief of Operations at TELACU, who are now our overlords. This snit of a mgr has filed a false police report against me and a restraining order, Maynard has returned my rent, which means I will be homeless without possibility of renting in the future. I will fight to the death

I also have at least 3 comments on ripoff, and am about to update with this latest human abuse of a handicapped senior. If they want me out so bad, why not give my sec. 8 voucher back? THEIR team of attys, $600,000 annually says no??? This is elder abuse of the most cruel kind by an agency that is using OUR money, not to mention the inflated salaries and bonuses.

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